Here is a press release from the FBI.
I downloaded the press release from the U.S. Newswire BBS in
Maryland at (410) 363-0834.
I do not work for the FBI or the U.S. government.
FBI Director Announces Graduation of First Session of
International Law Enforcement Academy
Contact: FBI National Press Office, 202-324-3691
WASHINGTON, June 16 -- FBI Director Louis J. Freeh
said today that 33 law enforcement officers from Hungary,
Poland and the Czech Republic completed their training in the first
session of the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in
Budapest, Hungary.
There are 10 students all at the middle management level of
their police services and one counselor from each of the three
countries represented in this first session. At the graduation
ceremony today Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate
Juciciary Committee, gave the commencement address. Also attending
were senior government and law enforcement representatives from
Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and the United States.
The ILEA is a multi-national police training facility designed
to train officers from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the
Newly Independent States. The academy is a joint initiative among
the United States, Hungary, countries sending students to the
academy and a number of Western European nations that have pledged
support. ILEA seeks to develop closer working ties and greater
cooperation among the participating countries on a wide range of
crime control matters. The first session began on April 24.
Freeh said, "Europe and the United States share a common concern
-- crime and violence -- and the academy represents the common
vision of democratic law enforcement and the realization of the
need for standardized international police training. ILEA will
yield solid working relationships with law enforcement officers in
the emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. The
training fosters a commitment to the rule of law and develops
strong partners essential to our efforts to stop the spread of
emerging organized crime groups that now freely transcend national
borders."
To date, 27 countries from Central and Eastern Europe have
indicated an interest in sending students to the facility, where
the curriculum is modeled after the successful FBI National Academy
in Quantico, Va. Initially, 11 countries will send students to the
academy -- Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia,
Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Russia.
Freeh said, "The first session was extremely successful and the
students selected for training represented some of the best future
leaders of their law enforcement organizations."
Freeh said the FBI is deeply grateful to the Department of State
and the Department of Justice for their crucial support in the
planning and development of priority programs to train foreign law
enforcement personnel and develop joint multi-nation programs to
prevent and combat a wide range of deadly crimes. "Many officials
have aided these efforts but special thanks go to Secretary of
State Warren Christopher, Attorney General Janet Reno and Assistant
Secretary of State Robert Gelbard," Freeh said.
The academy's training program is based on an eight-week
professional development course. Each course will eventually have
about 50 students. There will be five courses per year for a total
of 250 police officers to be trained annually. The curriculum
focuses on the investigative process, ethics, rule of law in a
democratic society, leadership, personnel management, financial
management and other significant law enforcement matters.
Additionally, there are short-term training courses in specific
types of investigations such as organized crime, financial crimes,
drug trafficking, terrorism and nuclear trafficking. Instruction
throughout the course was provided by law enforcement officers from
the FBI, DEA, U.S. Secret Service, ATF, U.S. Customs, IRS and the
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. In addition, expert
consultants from the academic community made presentations to the
class.
"We must fight crime at the critical points of origin. Crime
that originates in Europe harms the United States just as our own
crime problems cause harm when they find their way overseas. The
academy and the relationships that flow from it represent a first
line of defense for all of the participating nations against
burgeoning international crime and terrorism," Freeh said.
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